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"It is my way and no other way"
I MUST begin with passages
which declare the founder's teaching to be the one, sole,
true and only way. The fact that several founders
have made this claim is not meant to invalidate or make
relative their claims; each in his own way stands at the
summit of truth unrivaled by anyone else. Every reader must
inevitably face this radical claim of authority and
uniqueness, first by the founder of his own CORE
BELIEF SYSTEM, not just by those Founders who stated
the comments. We should not think that we are able to arrive
at truth merely by the power of our own choice of one mans
words alone.
Other passages describe the ways in which
the founders have arrived at their incomparable
teachings. There are mainly two ways a prophet arrives at
divine intervention: #1 by receiving divine revelation from
a transcendent source, and #2 through extensive striving,
study, and meditation. Yet even where the mode of realizing
truth is through study and meditation, there is margin for
error based on material study material alone. Thus
several of the passages to be shared it is easier to say
that the majority of the founders findings arrived to them
via study and meditation rather than divine intervention,
revelations or a transcendent source.
Several passages describe the founders
as teachers and bringers of light, even outshining all
previous teachers. In the concluding passage, which
describes the Buddha as not uttering any words at all, we
recognize that these founders do not just preach a
truth, but realize it, embody it, and convey it by their
example. This brings us back full circle to the opening
passages, where Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, and others are not
only the revealers of an objective Word but the embodiments
of Truth itself.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the
truth, and the life; no one comes to
the Father, but by me."
Christianity. Bible, John 14.6
I [Krishna] am the goal of the wise
man, and I am the way. I am his
prosperity. I am his heaven. There is nothing
dearer to him than I.
Hinduism. Srimad Bhagavatam 11.12
In the sky there is no track. Outside
[the Buddha's dispensation] there
is no saint. Mankind delights in obstacles. The
Tathagatas are free from
obstacles.
Buddhism. Dhammapada 254
"In any way that
men love me in that same way they find my love: for many are
the paths of men, but they all in the end come to me."
-- Song of God,
Bhagavad Gitam,
Buddhism.
Glory be to Lord Mahavira, the source
of the Scripture, supreme Tirthankara,
the teacher of the world.
Jainism. Nandi Sutra, 2
Oh, how great is the divine moral law
of the Sage Confucius. Overflowing
and illimitable, it gives birth and life to all created
things and towers
high up to the very heavens. How magnificent it is!
How imposing the
three hundred principles and three thousand rules of
conduct! They await
the man who can put the system into practice.
Confucianism. Doctrine of the Mean 27
Muhammad is... the Messenger of God
and the Seal of the Prophets.
Islam. Qur'an 33.40
When a document is sealed, it is complete and there can be
no further addition. As 'the Seal of the Prophets' Muhammad
is regarded as the last prophet, completing for all time the
testimony of God's revelation. For Islam, God's teaching
will continue in later ages through reformers, sages, and
saints, but no more through a Prophet. Qur'an 33.40
It is quite evident in
all passages that the founders have written their passages in
such a way that when we place them side by side as in the above
example they sound as if they're shrewd business men hell bent
after our last dollars, or better yet, our souls! Rightfully so,
tithing and souls it is! To begin with
I must start with Founder Jesus, and specifically how he could
have managed to say, "I am the way, the
truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me."
So what he said here is that no one that knew or knows
Jesus will get to God, there for they also will not make it to
Heaven. A NewsWeek Poll just came out this past week
that stated 68% Evangelical Protestants believe that
a good person who isn't of their religious faith
will go to heaven or attain salvation. Oh WAIT! And a walloping 91%
of Catholics believe that
a good person who isn't of their religious faith
will go to heaven or attain salvation.
CLICK
HERE TO VIEW THE POLL. This means a few things folks:
#1 - A high percentage of Christians and Catholics apparently do
not take Jesus' word seriously, "I am the Way... the truth...etc.."
which leads to "belief tolerance" which I think is superb! and #2
My prediction is coming to fruition, that of being that we are
all in for a major spiritual overhaul and new enlightenment
period VERY soon. Preferably prior to 2012. Yes, we are going to
have to learn that there are many prophets, several books,
multiple followings and beliefs and it isn't until we come
together to form a unity that we shall prevail. You see, we are
all striving to elongate life as we know it. We are all
desperately trying to reduce the risk of death bearing diseases,
taking nutrients and vitamins to make us look and feel younger,
we're essentially seeking the fountain of youth as we grow older
are we not? So why not create a more divine existence upon earth
in the physical realm? Why not attempt to create heaven on
earth?
Again, I strongly urge all of
those who follow one religious way to seriously start venturing
out there and seeking new, colorful and exciting belief systems.
I'm not talking about getting involved with occults here folks
but I am saying that it might be time to broaden your spiritual
pathway to growth. I'm a firm believer that great things have
come from both the Eastern and Western belief systems and in fact,
at times I have actually leaned over to my father and said,
"Dad? I think I nailed down the whole theology thing." He
quickly says, "Oooooh nooooo!!!" And I follow by saying, "it's
as if at one time there was one large tablature, a massive book,
many many years ago. And it came crumbling down upon earth and
cracked into several pieces. Well various people took parts of
the book and scattered in their own directions and hence now
this is what we have. We have a melting pot of religious
beliefs, all with good deeds at the core, which all have great
books to support them and people too. And perhaps, perhaps it's
time for us to try and place this large, heavenly complete book
back together again." He replies, "How much Vino have you had
tonight?" <<<Chuckle>>> Bottom line is
that when you see the "Golden Rule" in every known religious
belief you see a formal unity within all of the books and
beliefs. And if we all wished heaven upon each other than so be
it.
If you
are a Christian and you are looking to expand your theological
or religious outlook you might try this. For instance, sharing
the Buddhist meditation practice of Metta-Bhavana, or loving
kindness with Christians might be an enlightening start. This
practice involves locating 'pleasant' sensations/emotions within
one's self and then sharing them with others via visualization,
extending loving-kindness as far and widely as possible. The
nucleus of this practice is always the heart-region, one is
usually able to observe the sensations associated with
loving-kindness much more clearly than in 'normal' contexts when
meditating – an energetic transfer of fine and uniform
vibrations felt as sensations of warm radiations extending from
the heart-center occur. I would welcome any and all Christians
to look the practice up and give it a try. It's a simple,
harmless, loving and kind way of loving oneself and others.
Regardless
of your belief I simply ask that you open your heart, mind and
soul to new and old traditional religions. Seek out what it was
like when the world worshiped the sacred feminine, the feline,
the one whom carries and gives birth to life; the Goddess or
female. What was life like when we all worshiped women? What was
life like during the change from worshiping Gods and Goddesses
to Christianity? How was the Bible or Quran assembled and by
whom? Question your theology and beliefs. Please, don't blindly
go into your belief with your strength residing in ones faith.
We all have faith and faith alone is enough to place anything
into anyone. So take a leap, a jump a step, into un-charted
waters and tamper with an area you have not been before. It is
my belief that you will find peace in many other beliefs as well
as your one main true faith.
And what if we stopped trying to
make the differences between our beliefs so glaring and started
to look for similarities within our sacred texts, scriptures,
teachings and prophets? We would first find more articles such
as this -
Jesus and Muhammad- The Parallel Sayings
- and secondly we would grow a more peaceful, free and equal
society.
I Have a Vision |
Heaven on Earth
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| Da Vinci
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Spirituality
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